


Country Boys

by LaurentheFlute



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Hero Worship, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurentheFlute/pseuds/LaurentheFlute
Summary: Everyone's favorite puppy-dog hero, viewed by a young man with big dreams of his own. A little character study.This was supposed to be a drabble, but I'm not very good at limiting myself to 100 words.Day 2 Prompt: “Looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.”
Relationships: Zack Fair & Cloud Strife
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: #DrabbleNovember 2020 Collection





	Country Boys

It felt like a miracle that they'd all made it out of the ruins of the helicopter with no more than bruises and some mild smoke inhalation. Cloud himself was a little banged-up, but nothing worth commenting on, and the soreness lessened the more he walked.

The SOLDIER, on the other hand, seemed _entirely_ unfazed by the incident, with a megawatt grin that shone brighter than the snow around them. Did something about the process of becoming a SOLDIER render one impervious to pain or anxiety? Or was that something peculiar to this particular man? Hard to say; Cloud's experience with SOLDIERs was essentially nonexistent prior to this day.

They trudged uphill through the snow, the other grunt trailing behind them, the Shinra operative in the suit even farther back.

"You seem to be holding your own," the SOLDIER said to Cloud, who kept at his heels, refusing to fall behind. Was this ironic, teasing him? But no, the man's smile was without guile or malice. If anything, he looked pleased.

"This isn't my first time in the country," Cloud said. His throat was dry from the cold mountain air, and he hoped his voice didn't sound as weak as it felt.

"Oh yeah? You're a country boy?"

That _had_ to be an insult, one that Cloud had heard so many times that he flinched at the words. But once again this man's easy smile betrayed no hint of cruelty.

"Yeah. From Nibleheim."

"Oh, that's a long way off. They've got a reactor there, don't they?"

"Yeah. That's the only reason anyone's heard of it."

The man's grin widened, which Cloud would not have thought possible; it seemed like his face must get tired eventually. "I bet you've never heard of my hometown."

"Really? You're not from Midgar?" That surprised him—without realizing it, he supposed he'd always just assumed that the SOLDIERs, being the best of the best, must have come from the city itself.

"Me? Naw." The SOLDIER waved a gloved hand dismissively. "I'm from Gongaga. Know it?"

"No, I … guess I don't." And now that it was pointed out to him, he could hear a hint of a drawl in the man's voice, the vowels just a little drawn out, a lilting upswing to his words that had initially seemed like part of his incessant cheeriness rather than an accent.

This countryside was more mountainous than what surrounded Nibelheim, and the elevation began to take a toll on Cloud. But the SOLDIER seemed once again unfazed, as though his legs were mechanical—and maybe they _were_ ; the rumors made anything seem possible—and Cloud pushed himself to keep up. He would not show weakness.

The SOLDIER stopped, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called down, "Hey, Tseng, quit lollygagging."

That was the name of the Shinra suit. Not somebody Cloud would ever talk to in a tone like that. Maybe being a SOLDIER meant you didn't have to worry about anyone else's rank. Or maybe, again, this man was simply unafraid of anything. If the suit objected, Cloud could barely hear his response.

"Me and–" The SOLDIER turned to Cloud. "What's your name?"

"Cloud."

He nodded, then cupped his hands around his mouth again. "Me and Cloud here are leaving you both in the dust. C'mon! It's not that bad. You've just got to push through it!"

Once again, the response was muffled. The SOLDIER shrugged and started up the mountain again. Cloud kept pace with him as snow continued to fall around them. They trudged on in a silence that felt friendly, at least.

Cloud's legs were burning by the time they reached a sheltered alcove at the top of the mountain, and the snowfall had grown heavy enough to obscure visibility. The SOLDIER crouched beneath the overhang, where the snow and the wind were mostly blocked off, and Cloud leaned against the rocky outcropping beside him.

"Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while," the SOLDIER said cheerfully. "Tseng isn't used to hiking. I guess he probably sits at a desk all day. And that other guy, the one with you, can't keep up."

"He's–" Cloud wanted to come to the man's defense, but honestly he didn't know him well enough to say anything. "He'll get here eventually. They both will."

"You seem pretty tough, though." The dark-haired man regarded him thoughtfully. 

"I'm doing my best."

Now that they'd stopped moving, the cold was catching up to him, and Cloud crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn't suited up with the expectation that he'd spend this long crossing the snowy countryside by foot, and regulation gear only kept so much of the wind out. The SOLDIER's gear was even lighter, yet he hardly seemed to notice the cold. He looked strong, broad-shouldered, with thighs like tree trunks and powerful arms—like he could take on anything and win. The sword strapped across his back looked so heavy Cloud's arms hurt just at the thought of lifting it. Yet instead of having an air of mystery or danger, he seemed so affable that Cloud thought maybe, just maybe, it would be safe to ask.

"Sir–"

The SOLDIER guffawed. "Don't call me that! The name's Zack."

"You're a superior officer–"

"I'm just another boy from the country, same as you." He stood and leaned against the wall beside Cloud, cocking his head ever so slightly. "Sounds like you were going to ask me something, though. What's up?"

"I was just—I was wondering what it's like to be a SOLDIER."

Zack looked thoughtfully out at the snow, and Cloud felt like he could actually see the man chewing through what he was going to say next. "It's hard work. Why, you think you're going to try out for it?"

"I—maybe." He was embarrassed to admit it to this man, of all people, to an actual SOLDIER who might look at his scrawny arms and his country background and laugh him all the way from here to Midgar. But SOLDIERs could protect the people they cared about, no matter what. They could handle danger. They could keep their promises.

Zack clapped him on the shoulder, hard enough that it threw off his balance, and he scrambled to keep his feet. "You should go for it."

"You think so?"

Zack nodded with absolute confidence. "Yeah. I mean, they let me in, right? So how hard could it be?"

Cloud did not know how to point out to Zack how enormously powerful he looked, how shamelessly confident he seemed, the epitome of a warrior and a leader. But he seemed confident in Cloud, too, even though they'd just met. And maybe Cloud could borrow some of that confidence, could pretend to be as sure of himself as Zack was—and maybe, eventually, the borrowed confidence could become his own.

"Thanks," he said.

**Author's Note:**

> I just really like Zack Fair, OK? I've started playing FF7R with almost no memories of the original FF7, so it's basically Crisis Core 2 in my eyes and it's making me remember how much I love Crisis Core.
> 
> This is my first time writing *anything* with either of these characters, so I'm just dipping my toes in and hoping for the best. I might write more as time goes by. I'm trying a monthly "drabble" challenge (TRY TO IMAGINE ME WRITING ONLY A HUNDRED WORDS ON ANYTHING) in place of NaNoWriMo this year, so expect more snippets! I also have literally no idea where I stand on the subject of Crisis Core/FF7R shipping, so maybe we'll all discover that together!


End file.
